Nature Connection
When building a sauna the first and possibly most important consideration is the location.
A wood-burning sauna, free from the tether of an electrical connection, can be built a ways from the house—not just for safety but also to create a separation from the digital buzz of modern life. Simple and inexpensive solar options make it easy to provide needed lighting. The sauna should have some of the comforts of home but be integrated into nature; near a body of water is always a good choice.
My latest sauna build does all of that and more. The site is fairly close to the house but lies outside the garden gates. It all but hangs on the edge of a small gorge that contains a lively creek in its serpentine confines. Like the basswood and cherry trees that cling to the sides of the gorge, firmly rooted in the ground, the sauna is anchored to the 300 million year old shale bedrock with concrete and steel. The owners built a steep stair down to a small waterfall that flows into a perfect, bathtub sized hole.
Descending the steps may be slightly perilous, but that only adds to the adrenaline rush after leaving the steaming sauna and plunging into the ever-cold water.
As I build, I tweak my design to allow nature into the sauna. With the structure framed but without sheathing, it allowed a perfect view up the ravine from the upper bench, suggesting the optimum location for a small candle window. The larger window allows a view of the wooded hill and brings in ample afternoon light. The view down into the creek through the framing had me imagining a small square creek view porthole, below knee level, that would let in the ambient sound of the rushing creek. Exiting the sauna, bathers face the woods, not the house. The eye follows a crude stair-path up into the forest then down the other stairway to the creek.
The sauna is visible from the road and the house, but neither is evident from the sanctuary within. All that is heard is the babble of the creek, and all that is felt is the relaxing heat of the sauna.
Finishing a few rounds in the sauna with a dunk in the massaging water is pure bliss.
The site is not only perfect for the sauna, but it was a joy to work there, listening to and watching the water flow. Daily, I took dips in the creek to beat the steamy summer heat. Having a site that enables me to enjoy the process of building means I can build a better sauna—one that is infused with the spirit of the place and connected to nature.
